172: Chapter 172 The Heart of Annihilation!

Enhanced by Lu Yin's Life Mark, the Abyssal Monster's attributes were now fully comparable to a Mythic Class after their first awakening.

The Abyssal Monster let out a silent roar, charging fearlessly toward the giant web made of tentacles.

Their razor-sharp limbs tore through the fleshy tentacles, and the splashing corrosive liquid had little effect on their hard shells.

Chen Yuan seized the opportunity, the cold light on his Tang sword surging.

"Moon-Breaking Flash!"

A half-moon-shaped blade qi whistled out, clearing a gap through the remaining tentacles ahead.

Just as the two were about to rush into the rift, a deafening roar echoed from above.

The Flesh Aggregate had fully formed; it swung a giant arm stitched together from countless severed limbs, smashing toward Luo Xiu with devastating force.

"Sss sss sss!"

Tens of thousands of human faces on the aggregate opened their mouths simultaneously, their screams—a mixture of men, women, young, and old—forming a terrifying mental shockwave.

Luo Xiu neither dodged nor evaded, slashing his blood sword upward in a reverse strike.

"Mad Blood Heaven Slayer!"

Luo Xiu's blood sword collided violently with the giant arm, erupting in a deafening boom.

Crimson battle qi and dark red corruptive energy violently clashed and annihilated each other like two raging tides.

The shockwave instantly cleared a swath of the dense tentacles nearby.

However, the strength of that Flesh Aggregate was beyond imagination.

Luo Xiu's pale body shook violently, and the crimson battle qi surrounding him visibly dimmed.

The thousands of faces on the aggregate let out even more piercing and chaotic shrieks.

They formed a tangible mixture of sonic and mental shockwaves that slammed hard into Luo Xiu's soul.

In the violent turbulence of energy, Luo Xiu's figure was like a candle flickering in the wind, yet he never retreated a single step.

His eye sockets, burning with soul fire, remained locked onto the Flesh Aggregate, his voice hoarse but carrying unquestionable power.

"Go! Don't look back!"

Lu Yin's heart tightened; through their Sovereign-Subject Connection, he could feel the intense consumption of Luo Xiu's soul fire.

His will was being frantically torn apart by the wailing of those thousands of faces, yet he still held up the final barrier for them.

"Go!" Chen Yuan grabbed Lu Yin, and the two turned into streaks of light, rushing toward the rift emitting an ominous red glow.

The moment they vanished into the rift, Luo Xiu's final roar and the Flesh Aggregate's even more frenzied shrieks echoed from behind.

A violent explosion shockwave surged from outside the rift, nearly blowing the two of them away.

Inside the rift was a fleshy tunnel extending downward.

The walls squirmed slowly like living things, dark red blood vessels pulsating within the flesh, emitting a nauseating scent of blood.

Mental pollution became even more intense here, as if countless tiny voices were whispering in their ears, trying to burrow into the depths of their consciousness.

Lu Yin allocated more of his attributes to Spirit, barely managing to maintain his sanity.

Chen Yuan's situation was worse; fine cracks had appeared on his forehead, an outward sign of his mind being eroded.

Down, further and further down.

The fleshy tunnel seemed endless, its slope growing steeper.

The slimy flesh layer underfoot made it hard to find purchase; they had to rely on stabbing their weapons into the walls to steady themselves.

The surrounding whispers became clearer, no longer just meaningless noise.

Instead, they began to coalesce into fragmented sentences, directly striking at their minds.

"Give up..."

"Merge into the eternal silence..."

"Your struggles are meaningless..."

Chen Yuan shook his head violently and slammed his Tang sword into the flesh wall with a dull thud.

The cracks on his forehead seemed to spread further; his eyes flickered between clarity and vacancy.

"Watch out!" Lu Yin suddenly barked, the Life Mark on his wrist erupting with a ghostly light.

Several fissures suddenly split open in the flesh wall below, gushing out large amounts of dark red, highly corrosive blood that poured toward them like a waterfall.

Chen Yuan reacted instantly, activating a defensive skill.

"Heaven's Scourge Barrier!"

A translucent energy barrier unfolded below them; the corrosive blood slammed into it with a terrifying sizzling sound, and the barrier thinned rapidly.

Taking the chance, Lu Yin allocated all his attributes to Agility, his figure moving laterally like a ghost, narrowly avoiding the main impact.

Where he had been, the flesh wall had been corroded into a massive hole, revealing giant pulsating blood vessels beneath.

"This damn place..." Chen Yuan panted, the cracks on his forehead deepening as dark red blood seeped out.

Lu Yin didn't answer; his gaze was fixed intently below.

Through layers of squirming flesh, he could vaguely see a vast space and the terrifying energy source within it that made one's soul tremble.

"We're almost there... I can feel it," Lu Yin's voice was raspy.

After rushing forward for a while longer, the end of the tunnel opened up, and the two fell into a space that defied common logic.

It was as if they were inside that giant heart—a chamber so vast its boundaries were out of sight.

Dark red flesh walls formed the sky and ground, with countless blood vessels as thick as mountain ranges pulsating above and below, transporting viscous dark red energy.

In the center of the space floated a crystal only the size of a human head, yet it emitted an aura that made the entire massive heart pulse.

It was dark red and translucent, with what looked like nebulae swirling inside, or perhaps solidified despair itself.

With just a single glance, Lu Yin and Chen Yuan felt as if their souls were being sucked in, their reason screaming in alarm.

That... was the core of the heart of annihilation!

However, between the crystal and the two of them lay a churning sea of dark red blood.

Within the sea of blood, countless twisted shadows drifted.

They were like forgotten memories or stripped-away tormented souls, letting out silent wails.

Even more heart-wrenching was a low, ancient, and malicious thought echoing throughout the space, acting directly upon their consciousness.

"Sleep, eternal rest is the final destination..."

"..."

Amidst these whispers, the churning sea of blood suddenly boiled violently.

Countless drifting shadows seemed to receive a command, turning simultaneously toward the two intruders.

These twisted shadows began to condense and rise, standing up from the sea of blood.

They transformed into dark red monsters of indeterminate form, possessing only vague humanoid outlines.

Where their "faces" should be were hollow vortices, emitting a pure suction force that seemed capable of devouring all light and hope.

"Wooo!"

There was no physical sound, but a sharp mental shriek exploded deep within the minds of Lu Yin and Chen Yuan.

Chen Yuan groaned, and the cracks on his forehead suddenly burst open.

Dark red blood flowed down his cheeks, and his eyes instantly became frantic.

"Kill... kill you..."

He growled, and the Tang sword in his hand actually turned slightly, pointing at Lu Yin beside him, its blade flickering with cold light.

"Teacher!"

Lu Yin was startled, realizing that Chen Yuan's reason had been completely eroded.